HOPPY: An open-source and low-cost kit for dynamic robotics education

This work introduces HOPPY, an open-source, low-cost, robust, and modular kit for robotics education. The robot dynamically hops around a fixed gantry. The kit lowers the entry barrier for studying dynamic robots and legged locomotion in real systems. Controlling dynamic motions in real robots present unique challenges to the software and hardware which are often overlooked in conventional robotics courses. A simple controller is described to achieve velocities up to 2m/s, navigate small objects, and mitigate external disturbances (kicks). HOPPY was utilized as the topic of a semester-long project for the Robot Dynamics and Control course at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Students provided an overwhelmingly positive feedback from the hands-on activities during the course and the instructors will continue to develop and improve the kit for upcoming semesters.

Find out more here:
https://github.com/RoboDesignLab/HOPP...